Syracuse's Gerry McNamera makes a behind-the-back pass on Binghamton's Stanley Cole in the first half at the Carrier Dome.
Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard

The Carrier Dome crowd, which had been pretty subdued for most of Syracuse’s game against Binghamton Saturday night, fell ominously silent.

Carmelo Anthony was on the floor holding his right knee.

With 17 minutes, 59 seconds left in the game, a baseline drive to the basket had resulted in Anthony taking a opponent’s hip just below his knee.

As Syracuse trainer Brad Pike knelt to examine Anthony, as team physician Irving Raphael leaned in for a look, as a Sports Illustrated reporter on press row saw a story going up in smoke, Syracuse’s entire season hung in the balance.

“I was scared," Anthony said. “Everything went blank. I wasn’t thinking about nothing.”

To make a long story short, Syracuse’s season continues after a 94-58 win over Binghamton -- with a healthy Anthony. The 6-foot-8 freshman spent a minute in the SU locker room and a couple more on the bench next to SU coach Jim Boeheim before reporting back into the game.

A short time later, Anthony swished in a soft turnaround jumper and then threw a bounce pass that hit Kueth Duany in stride for a transition dunk to ease the minds of the paid crowd of 19,770 at the Dome.

Anthony finished the game with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for his fifth double-double in Syracuse’s six games this season. In six games, Anthony has scored between 21 and 28 points.

Duany had Carmelo-like numbers with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. So did Hakim Warrick, who produced 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Jeremy McNeil had six points and five blocks. Craig Forth scored 10 points to go with five boards.

Syracuse improved to 5-1 while Binghamton fell to 4-3. The Bearcats placed just one player in double-figures -- senior guard Anthony Green who had 11 points.

The Orangemen have a week off before taking on Georgia Tech next Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

After the game, Anthony was able to joke about a twisted left knee and a bruised right one. “I’ll be hearing about the SI jinx," he said, flashing his trademark ear-to-ear smile. Then, still smiling but not kidding, Anthony said he would be talking with SU assistant Troy Weaver about an insurance policy very soon.

With Sports Illustrated in town to include Anthony in an upcoming story on impact freshmen, Anthony put on an incredibly efficient performance. He made 10-of-15 field goal attempts, went 1-for-2 from 3-point range and hit all three of his free throws. His rebounds and assists tied season-highs.

“When I’m playing on the court,I don’t think about who’s looking at me or who’s writing something about me," Anthony said. “I just play.”

SU freshman Carmelo Anthony ices his knees near the end of the Orangemen's rout of Binghamton on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. On the left is teammate Hakim Warrick. Anthony finished with 24 points. Warrick had 16.Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard

Four of his assists came in the first half, negating Binghamton’s attempts to double-team and later use a box-and-one defense to contain him.

“They were trying to come and get him and he’s going to find open people," Boeheim said. “If people trap him, he’s going to get the ball to people. That’s what he does. I think that’s what he does best. People haven’t been coming to trap him too much because they don’t want to give up those layup shots.

“He was very solid tonight, no question about that.”

Anthony wasn’t alone in that regard. The Orangemen connected on 58.8 percent of their shots, while limiting the Bearcats to 30.6 percent from the field. In the game’s first 12 minutes, Syracuse took 23 shots and made 17 as it established a 38-17 lead.

“We were very sharp tonight offensively," Boeheim said. “Right from the beginning, Carmelo was finding people. They were doubling and he was finding guys.”

The Bearcats, meanwhile, struggled to get open and then couldn’t get the open shots to drop. The Bearcats made just seven of their first 23 shots.

Binghamton closed to within 52-36 at halftime thanks to a brief 10-2 run, but McNeil left the Bearcats with a clear message as the teams headed into their locker rooms as he blocked four shots in the final 22 seconds of the first half.

Binghamton trailed 60-42 when Anthony returned to the game following his collision with Bearcats center Nick Billings. Three minutes later, the Orangemen led by 28 points.

When asked what he thought about when Anthony went down, Boeheim could reply, “I don’t think about things like that.”